Schneider is a Second Lieutenant of the Black Knights.
History[]
Along with his mentor, the First Lieutenant Meldars and fellow second Lieutenant Lentz, he makes his way to Japan, where the Black Knights search for the Divine Elixir, in order to sell it for a high price and use the proceeds to finance their world domination agenda. He and Himura Kenshin draw swords briefly and he later reveals that Kenshin (whom he refers to as 'Samurai') showed him that a sword can also be used as a weapon to protect rather than inflict harm.
Although he is extremely loyal to their cause, he dissents when Meldars ( whom he always admired and idolized) betrays Misanagi, the leader of the Sanada Ninja clan and orders to have her killed, despite the fact that she helped lead them towards the Elixir. After suffering a deep shoulder cut due to a surprise attack by Lentz, she is unable to fight at her best and just as Lentz is about to finish her off, she is rescued by Schneider, who breaks Lentz' battle axe with his sword.
Despite being very adept as swordsmanship, he is no match for Meldars, who easily defeats him with his powerful platinum lance, while mounted on a high horse. However, just as Meldars is about to execute Schneider, Himura Kenshin and his friends, along with a dissenting Sanada member named Kaita, arrive in time and Kenshin fights a hard battle with Meldars. Although he is able to break Meldars' attack using Kuzuryūsen, Meldars' advanced protective armour results in him absorbing little damage, despite the high caliber of Kuzuryūsen and thus Kenshin has no choice but to use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's ōgi (final attack), Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki, in order to defeat him. Due to the intensity of the battle, the surrounding area begins to burn. Although using his ōgi results in Kenshin being dealt a hard blow, the force of the sword draw creates a powerful vacuum which coupled with the flaming surroundings, results in Meldars' horse being hit by the flames and Meldars himself being drawn into the vacuum and thus losing the battle. Knowing his failure, Meldars elects to remain in the inferno, probably due to his humiliation in losing to Kenshin.
Following the battle, Schneider and Lentz turn themselves into the German embassy in Japan.
Personality[]
Unlike his comrades, Schneider is cheerful and open-minded and does not look down upon people from the east, such as the Japanese. Due to this personality, he develops a sort-of friendship with Misanagi, despite the fact that Meldars and Lentz just see her as a tool to get what they want. He also respects Kenshin's swordsmanship and after the battle for the elixir ends, he rebukes Lentz for having a narrow-minded and bigoted view towards Japanese, based on the fact that Kenshin was skilled enough to defeat the very best of the Black Knights, i.e. Meldars.
Abilities[]
Schneider is very skilled when it comes to swordsmanship. Despite facing his mentor Meldars, who is superior to him and has the advantage of being mounted up on a high horse and wielding a long platinum lance, he is able to slightly slash his right cheek, before being put down (reminiscent of what Kiyosato Akira did to Kenshin). He is also seen cutting through a very thick piller of stone with his sword and using it to break Lentz' sword in two, when protecting Misanagi.
Relationships[]
- Meldars - Mentor, whom he idolized all his life, until seeing him disgracefully order Misanagi's execution, despite her efforts to help further advance the goals of the Black Knights.
- Lentz - Fellow lieutenant of the Black Knights. Schneider stops Lentz from killing Misanagi. Later on, both he and Lentz leave the organization and turn themselves into the authorities.
- Misanagi - Unlike the other Black Knights, he saw Misanagi as a friend, not just a tool and the two may have developed a romantic affiliation for one-another, especially after Schneider saved her life.